PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS

Private investigators provide investigative and legal support to government agencies, corporate entities and the public. They occupy a critical place in the judicial system in terms of investigations, service of legal documents and recovery of assets wrongly obtained.

Four main areas of work of private investigators:

Anti-fraud work

Legal work: Including locating and interviewing witnesses or claimants

The relationship between private investigators and their clients is contractual. As an agent, the investigator has a number of duties to the client including:

Duty to follow instructions

Duty to act in person

Duty to act in the interests of the principal

AT GMH Legal, we believe that a private investigator can be a valuable asset to your defence. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to further discuss their role in the conduct of an investigation.

For more information, please refer to the Australian Government’s ‘The role of private investigators’ section.

HANDWRITING EXPERTS

The primary basis of handwriting analysis is that every person in the world has unique way of writing. Handwriting experts may compare handwriting, signatures, numerals, initials and hand printing.

The process of handwriting analysis when comparing two documents starts not with checking for similarities but instead with checking for differences.

If there are key differences in enough individual characteristics, and those differences do not appear to be the result of simulation, then the two documents were not written by the same person. However if the differences don’t rule out a match, and there are significant similarities in the individual traits in the two documents, singular authorship becomes a possibility.

Generally, handwriting experts can assist you with the following services:

The scope of this new legislation has very substantial ramifications for defendants in criminal trial matters.

The intent of this Bill seems to be unapologetically aimed at enhancing prospects of conviction.

It seeks to achieve this by effectively reversing the onus and requiring the Defence to reveal their
hand prior to trial. Failure to do so may lead to the drawing of adverse inferences against the Defendant.

The Bill erodes a fundamental principle of our legal system – that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Whilst it does not require the Defence to prove anything in court it requires the Defence to
alert the Crown to the nature of the defence and the factual and legal issues.

The effect of this is that instead of having an overarching responsibility to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt the Crown would have to focus only on discreet areas of contest.

This could potentially backfire in that the Crown may, in focusing on the issues disclosed by the defence, neglect to prove certain matters or overlook certain issues.

The issue is Sections 143(b), (c) and (d). The remaining matters are more administrative matters, which, whilst making life more onerous for the Defence, could be complied with without compromising fundamental principles of justice.

It is imperative that all Defendants retain a right to defend their case on any possible factual or legal basis that may exist before trial or may even become available during trial. That is the effect of the principle – innocent until proven guilty.

By allowing adverse interest to be drawn from failures to disclose any possible defence that may ultimately be utilised by the Defendant is to deny them that right.

The question of what adverse inferences could possibly be drawn in each individual situation will be a minefield. It is very unlikely that conviction rates will change. However, the rates of appeals will increase significantly – guaranteed – as arguments over what inferences can be drawn and how the Judge/Jury can take them into account will be prolific.